Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Thomas (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Thomas. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Thomas is located in Cheshire County.
To see how the shape of New Hampshire's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Cheshire County: Franklin (MA), Worcester (MA), Hillsborough, Sullivan & Windham (VT).
Below are the counties that are near Thomas. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Thomas:
- Cheshire County (The home county of Thomas)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
- Rindge
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- West Rindge
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- West Rindge is located in Cheshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rindge
- Jaffrey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Fitzwilliam Depot
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fitzwilliam Depot is located in Cheshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzwilliam Depot
- Fitzwilliam
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Troy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bonds Corner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Bonds Corner is located in Cheshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonds Corner
- Dublin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Richmond
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Eastview
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Eastview is located in Cheshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastview
- East Swanzey
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- East Swanzey is located in Cheshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Swanzey
- Harrisville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Marlborough
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hillsborough County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
- Sharon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sharon is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
- New Ipswich
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- West Peterborough
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- West Peterborough is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Peterborough
- Peterborough
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Temple
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Greenville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- North Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- North Village is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Village
- Mason
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Mason is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,433 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <1>
- West Wilton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- West Wilton is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wilton
- Elmwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Elmwood is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
- Hancock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- South Lyndeborough
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- South Lyndeborough is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lyndeborough
- Greenfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sullivan County
- Washington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Franklin County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
- Tully
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tully is located in Franklin County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tully
- North Orange
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- North Orange is located in Franklin County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Orange
- Mayo Corners
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Mayo Corners is located in Franklin County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayo Corners
- Warwick
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Warwick is located in Franklin County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
- Orange
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Orange is located in Franklin County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,581 people
- Wendell Depot
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wendell Depot is located in Franklin County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell Depot
- Erving
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Erving is located in Franklin County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erving
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,749 people
- Morse Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Morse Village is located in Franklin County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Village
- Northfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Northfield is located in Franklin County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,958 people
- West Northfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- West Northfield is located in Franklin County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Northfield
- Millington ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Millington is located in Franklin County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millington
- New Salem
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- New Salem is located in Franklin County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,034 people
- Wendell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wendell is located in Franklin County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 881 people
- Hampshire County (MA)
- Pelham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pelham is located in Hampshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,305 people
- Middlesex County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
- Ashby
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ashby is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,204 people
- South Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- South Village is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Village
- West Townsend
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- West Townsend is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Townsend
- Old City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Old City is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City
- Townsend
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Townsend is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townsend
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,448 people
- Townsend Harbor
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Townsend Harbor is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townsend Harbor
- Pepperell
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Pepperell is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pepperell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,043 people
- West Groton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- West Groton is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Groton
- Babbatasset Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Babbatasset Village is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babbatasset Village
- East Pepperell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- East Pepperell is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Pepperell
- Paper Mill Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Paper Mill Village is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paper Mill Village
- Shirley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Shirley is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,554 people
- Groton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Groton is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,256 people
- Worcester County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
- Winchendon Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Winchendon Springs is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchendon Springs
- Winchendon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Winchendon is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchendon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,835 people
- Waterville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Waterville is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterville
- Pequoig
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Pequoig is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pequoig
- Lane Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lane Village is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane Village
- Royalston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Royalston is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royalston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,278 people
- Baldwinville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Baldwinville is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwinville
- Ashburnham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ashburnham is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashburnham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,350 people
- South Ashburnham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- South Ashburnham is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ashburnham
- Blackburn Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Blackburn Village is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn Village
- East Templeton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- East Templeton is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Templeton
- Gardner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Gardner is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,585 people
- Brooks Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Brooks Village is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks Village
- Windham County (VT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
- South Vernon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- South Vernon is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vernon
- Vernon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Vernon is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,190 people
- Brattleboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Fairview Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Fairview Village is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Village
- Guilford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- East Dummerston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- East Dummerston is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dummerston
- Putney
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Putney is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putney
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,438 people
- Guilford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Guilford is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,102 people
- West Brattleboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Dummerston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dummerston is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dummerston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,739 people
- Westminster
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brattleboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Brattleboro is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brattleboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,257 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Thomas, see our County-by-County Page for Thomas.
Cemeteries Near Thomas ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thomas.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Thomas - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Thomas covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
- Rand Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Robbins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Hillside Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Calvary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Riverside Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Conant Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Wilder Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Cutler Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hannah Davis - Amos Fortune Graves
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Old Center Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Old Center Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (376 more) ...
- Jarmany Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- North Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>
While we didn't find Thomas in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Thomas.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
- Rindge
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- West Rindge
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- West Rindge is located in Cheshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rindge
- State Line
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- State Line is located in Cheshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
- Winchendon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Winchendon is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchendon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,835 people
- Winchendon Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Winchendon Springs is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchendon Springs
- East Rindge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- East Rindge is located in Cheshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rindge
- Jaffrey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Waterville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Waterville is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterville
- Fitzwilliam
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fitzwilliam Depot
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fitzwilliam Depot is located in Cheshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzwilliam Depot
- Royalston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Royalston is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royalston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,278 people
- Troy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- South Royalston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- South Royalston is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Royalston
- Baldwinville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Baldwinville is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwinville
- New Ipswich
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Thomas. See our List of 1890's Communities around Thomas.
Newspapers Published in Thomas ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thomas.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thomas, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thomas.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Thomas:
- Websites specific to New Hampshire
- Pages specific to Cheshire County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hillsborough County
- Sullivan County
- Franklin County
- Hampshire County
- Middlesex County
- Worcester County
- Windham County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for New Hampshire
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MACRIS (for the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System). More information about the MHC and MACRIS can be found on their website: mhc-macris.net.
When visiting the MACRIS website, you might encounter their page requiring the 'Acceptance of Terms'. With your acceptance, you'll be transfered to the desired page.
|
| <4> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Thomas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Thomas) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |